For those who love both cooking and shopping, a visit to Tokyo’s Kappabashi Dori aka Kitchen Town is a must. Located between Ueno and Asakusa – just 10 minutes’ walk west from Senso-ji (temple) – this stretch of road is lined with dozens of shops selling everything a restaurant could need, except for the food!
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A Visit to the Okunoin Cemetary and an overnight Koyasan Temple Stay, are a must-do for many visitors to Japan, especially those seeking a spiritual experience and an insight into Japanese worship and culture. On paper, the journey to reach Mount Koya – respectfully known as Koyasan in Japan – seems a bit convoluted. But the
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Japan is one of my all-time favourite destinations, I have absolutely loved the three trips we’ve made there so far, and am busy planning our fourth. It’s also a fantastic place to shop for unusual souvenirs. There are so very many things to choose from! Here are some excellent suggestions for the best souvenirs to
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This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Review by Pete Favelle. There are whisky books which seek to list every whisky in a given category, or give you a tick-list of X whiskies that you must “try before you die”. This is not such a book. Instead, The Way of Whisky by Dave Broom is a
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The advantage of meeting up with friends in Japan is that they can guide us to the best places for food and drink, none more so than food and drink journalist Robb Satterwhite, also the founder of Animal Cafes, Bento.com (restaurant guide), Craft Beer Bars Japan, and Where in Tokyo. Although we’re usually keen to seek
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I love that feeling when you’ve settled into your seat on the plane (or train or boat, for that matter) and the last few minutes tick down to departure time. Finally, you’re off! All the weeks of planning are done. You’ve handed over anything important at work, and your out of office message is on.
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Yokahama China Town is said to be Japan’s largest. There are others in Nagasaki and Kobe – all three were among the first Japanese ports to open to foreign trade and many Chinese traders settled there in the years to follow. Nagasaki is the oldest of the three, established in the 17th century, and is
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Planning a trip during Japan’s famous sakura (cherry blossom) season can be hit and miss, especially if you are moving around the country a fair bit. Peak blossom time can vary year on year by at least a week or two which means that the few days you have in a given location could fall
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I love the writings of Maya Angelou – she had such an incredible talent for describing the human condition, for capturing the very essence of human behaviour, feelings and motivations in the most poetic of ways. A prolific poet, writer and civil rights activist, she died in 2014 at the grand old age of 86,
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Today is World Sake Day. Kanpai! Sake is a drink I’ve been learning more about over recent years and I’ve come to really appreciate it. I seek out new sakes whenever I can. Here’s my beginner’s guide to sake. Images from shutterstock.com What is Sake? Sake is a Japanese alcohol made from
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